Vacuum steam-controller.



F. A. SIMONDS. VACUUM STEAM CONTROLLER.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 15, 1907.

921 172, Patented May 11, 1909.

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@ Horne F. A. SIMONDS. VACUUM STEAM GONTROLLER. APPLI OATION FILE-D JUNE 15, 1907. 921, 172. Patented May 11, 1909.

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@Hozncg 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. SIMONDS, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO SIMONDS HEATING AND SPECIALTY COMPANY, or FREMONT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

VACUUM STEAM-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1909.

Application filed June 15, 1907. Serial No. 379,271.

I 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. S1MoNDs, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum SteamControllers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements'in vacuum steam controllers, and more particularly to devices for controlling the steam in vacuum heating systems.

In a steam heating system known as the vacuum type, in which there is maintained a low pressure or vacuum in the return portion of the system, should the pressure rise inthe return side from any cause such as stoppage of the pump, the water of condensation will accumulate in the system, whereby the same will be flooded.

The object of my resent invention is to prevent this result y means of adevice adapted to automatically shut off the supply of steam to the system whenever the pressure rises in the return side of the system from any cause, and it consists essentially of a pressure motor adapted to close the supply valve andcommunicating with the return side of the heating system and controlled by the condition of the pressure therein, whereby when such ressure rises, the valve will be closed and t e supply of steam to the system will be cut off, and said valve will again be permitted to open when the pressure in the return side is sufficiently reduced to properly; remove the water of condensation from the system; and to provide the device with va- I'1011S new and useful features, as hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention consists essentially of a reciprocating member connected ,to the supply valve and normally same, one side of said member being exposed to atmospheric pressure to hold it out of action, and at the other side being in communication with the return side of the heating system, whereby the said atmospheric pressure is unbalanced, according to the like condition in the said returnvside, as will more fully appear by reference to the accompanying draw- I urge, in which:

arlapted to close the- Figure 1. represents a steam heating plant with my device attached; Fig. 2. a side elevation of my improved regulator; and, Fig. 3. a vertical section of the same.

Like numbers refer to like parts in all of the figures,

1 represents a hollow globular body within which is a centrally located high pressure chamber 2. in which is mounted a balanced valve 3 guided by a pin 5 projecting downward from a cap 4 serving as a closure for an opening in the case through which the valve may be inserted. The valve is also provided with a downwardly p,ro 'ecting stem 6 inserted in a screw threade opening in a verticall movable coupling 12 extending through a g and in a lower head 4 attached to the body 1 and closing an opening in the lower downward from the chamber 7, and on this lever are adjustable weights 16 and 17 to adapt the action of the device to different pressures, as hereafter described. Communicating with the interior of the body 1 is a pipe 10, which supplies steam to the various radiators of the plant, a high pressure radiator 29 and a low pressure radiator 30 being shown and connected by a pressure reducing trap 31. Extending from this pi e to the upper part of the chamber 7 and a ove the diaphragm 11 is a pipe 8 in which is a valve 9 to cut of? the flow. through said pi e in the event that the chamber 7 is to be 0 ened up for any purpose when steam is on t e plant. So far the device is a known form of pressure regulator for steam heating systems and will open and remain open whenever the pressure falls in the system.

My invention consists in the means f0 closing the valve whenever the normal working vacuum fails to be maintained in the return side of the system, or in other words when the pressure rises in the said return side, sufficient to prevent pro er removal of the water of condensation t erefrom, and consists preferably of the following means, to-Wit.

Extending downward from the chamber 7 are hangers 21 upon the lower ends of which .20 which extends to the return side of the system in which is maintained a vacuum by the usual means of a pump 34 having its steam end 35 connected to the boiler 27 by a pipe 36. This vacuum at the upper side thereof permits the air pressure below to raise this diaphragm to the upper part of the chamber. To the rod 23 is pivoted a lever 24 fulcrunied on a hanger 22 extending downward from the under side of the chamber. On this lever 24 is an adjustable weight25 to oppose the upward tendency of the diaphragm 19. Connecting the levers 24 and 14 is a chain 26, which is normally somewhat slack and which serves to bring the action of the weight 25 upon the lever 14 whenever the air pressure in the chamber 18 fails to sustain the diaphragm 19 in its upper position. The weights 16 and 17 are adjusted to hold the balanced valve open under the required flow of steam and pressure in the pipe 10 and in the heating system. should the pressure, however, rise above that which the adjustment is for, steam will flow back through the pipe 8 and increasing the pressure upon the upper side of the diaphragm 11 will lower the valve and thus reduce the flow of steam and reduce the pressure in the radiators.

So far the described operation of the device is old, and it provides only for cutting ofi excessive pressure in the radiators. The defect of the same which my device remedies is that should the steam pressure in the boiler run down too low or otherwise fail to operate the pump, the same would fail to remove the Water and maintain the vacuum in the return side and the heating plant would become flooded with condensation water. W ith the device shown, however, the diaphragm 19 is normally held in ele vated position with the weight 25 elevated and the chain 26 slack, but should the vacuum on the return side be reduced from any cause, the atmospheric pressure below the diaphragm 19 will be so nearly balanced that the diaphragm will not be supported and the weight 25 acting through the chain 26 will close the balanced valve and shut off the steam. So also when the plant is shut down, the balanced valve is automatically closed in like manner and remains closed until steam is raised in the boiler and a vacuum is formed upon the return side of the system by starting the pump. The steam is thus automatically shut off whenever there is an in sufiicient differential in pressures either by insuflicient steam pressure on the supply side a or insuflicient vacuum on the return side, to operate the system properly and again automatically turned on when suflicient dill ercntial is restored to properly operate the sj.'s tem.

Vhat I claim is:

1. In combination with a steam heating system having a separate suppl pipe for the heating medium, a separate return pipe for the condensation, a valve in the supply pipe and means for maintaininga vacuum in the return pipe; two separate pressure motors connected to the valve to separate]; close the same, one of said motors being incommunication with the supply pipe and the other motor being in communication with the return pipe and each independently oper ated to close said valve lyincrease of pressure in the respective pipe.

2. In combination with a steam heating s 'stem having a separate supply pipe for the heating medium, a separate return pipe for the condensation, a valve in the supply pipe and means for maintaining a vacuum in the return pipe; a pressure regulator in the supply pipe-adapted to open when the pressure falls in the said pipe, a weight connected to said regulator to close the same, and a pressure motor connected to the weight to support the same, said motor being in connnunication with the return pipe at one side and the atmosphere at the other side and o erated to support the weight by the un ialanced atmospheric pressure therein due to the vacuum in the return pipe.

A steam heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe communicating with the radiator, a valve in the supply pipe, a separate return pipe communicating with the radiator, a pump communicating with the return pipe to maintain a vacuum therein, means for operating said pump, a pressure motor communicating with the supply pipe and with the atmosphere and connected to said valve to open the same by atmospheric pressurev and to close the same by pressure from the supply pipe and a second pressure motor communicating with the return pipe and the atmosphere and also connected to said valve to close the same by pressure from the return pipe and held out of operation by atmospheric pressure.

4:. A steam heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe and a return pipe, each communicating with the radiator, means formaintaining a vacuum in the return pipe; a valve in the supply pipe, means for automatically closing the said valve when the pressure increases in the supply pipe and separate means for closing said valve when the vacuum is reduced in the return pipe.

5. A steam heating system comprising a radiator, a supply pipe and a return pipe each communicating with the radiator,

means for removing atmospheric pressure from the return i e and maintaining a vacuum therein, a alarmed valve in the su ply pipe, two separate and independent y operative pressure motors each having a reclprocating member connected to the valve Y radiator, a supply pipe and a return pipe each communicating with the. radiator, means for removing atmospheric pressure from the return pipe, a balanced valve in the supply pipe to control the flow therethrough, two separate flexible diaphragms connected to the said valve to close the same, one side of each diaphragm being exposed to the atmospheric pressure, aclosed chamber at the other side of each diaphragm and closed thereby, one of said chambers being in open communication with the supply pipe at a point between the valve and the radiator,

and the other chamber being in 0 en communication with the return pipe etween the radiator and the pump.

7. In a steam heating system, the combination of a boiler, a radiator, a vacuum pump, a supply pipecommunicating with the boiler and radiator, a steam pipe communicating with the boiler and the pump, a return pipe communicating with the radiator and the pump, a balanced valve in the supply ipe, a reciprocating member connected to t .e valve to 0 en and close the same, a closed chamber a ove the said member, a

said chamber and t pipe forming an 0 en passage between the said chamber and t e supply pipe at a point between the valve and the radiator, an auxiliar weight connected to the said member to c ose the valve, a second reciprocating member connected to the weight to su port the same by atmospheric pressure, a c osed chamber above said member and a pipe forming an open passage between the said chamher and the returnpipe.

8. In a steamheating system the combination of a boiler, a radiator, a vacuum pump, a supply pipe communicating with the boiler and radiator, a return pipe communicating with the radiator and pump, a

steam pipe communicating withvthe boiler and pump, a balanced. valve in the supply pipe, a flexible diaphragm connected to the valve and exposed to atmospheric pressure at the lower side, a closed chamber above the diaphragm, a pipe forming an open passage U between said chamber and the supply pipe at a point between the valve and radiator, a second flexible diaphragm exposed to atmospheric pressure at the lower side, a closed chamber above the said diaphragm, a pipe forming an open passage between the e return pipe, a separate weight connected to each diaphragm and eac weight to the valve to close the same.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PALMER A. JONES, LUTHER V. MOULTON.

suplported thereby, and means for connecting 

